Norway Inflation

Norway: Inflation inches down in October

November 10, 2014

In October, consumer prices rose 0.1% over the previous month, which followed the 0.5% decrease tallied in September. The print was in line with market expectations. According to Statistics Norway, the monthly print mainly reflected much higher prices for clothing and footwear as well as a significant increase in prices for recreation and culture.

Annual headline inflation inched down from 2.1% in September to 2.0% in October, which marked the lowest print in four months. Annual average inflation in October stabilized at September’s 2.1%.

Meanwhile, the core consumer price index, which excludes taxes, fees and energy prices, rose 0.2% in October (September: +0.5% month-on-month). Annual core inflation rose from 2.4% in September to 2.5% in October.

The Central Bank expects inflation to average 2.0% in both 2014 and 2015. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation to average 2.1% in 2014, which is up 0.1 percentage points from last month’s estimate. In 2015, the panel expects inflation to inch up to 2.2%%, which is unchanged over the previous month’s forecast.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, the economy shrank a seasonally-adjusted 0.3% from the previous quarter, below both market analysts’ expectations of a 0.6% quarter-on-quarter expansion and the third quarter’s revised growth of 0.8% (previously reported: +0.7% quarter-on-quarter).

According to Statistics Norway, industrial production rose by a seasonally-adjusted 0.6% from the previous month in November, contrasting October’s revised 1.3% decrease (previously reported: -1.4% month-on-month).
The expansion in the extraction and related services sector—the largest industrial sector in Norway—drove the increase.